Europe's spa capital — 12 mineral springs, Belle Époque colonnades, and the world's greatest film festival
Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) is a Bohemian spa city of extraordinary elegance, built in a wooded river valley where 12 hot mineral springs bubble up from volcanic sources. Habsburg emperors, Russian tsars, and Beethoven, Goethe, Brahms, and Dvořák all took the waters here. The curative routine involves sipping mineral water from the springs through porcelain drinking cups while strolling beneath the ornate glass colonnades — a ritual unchanged since the 18th century. The International Film Festival in July is the oldest in Central Europe and one of the world's most important, second in prestige on…
Legend holds that Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV discovered the springs while hunting around 1358 — his horses allegedly cured their leg ailments in the thermal waters. The town grew as a health resort for European aristocracy and the creative class through the 18th and 19th centuries: Goethe visited 13 times, Beethoven composed part of the 'Immortal Beloved' letter here, and Karl Marx worked on 'Das Kapital' during his stays. The German-speaking majority ('Karlsbad') was expelled in 1945 and the city repopulated with Czechs. The Film Festival began in 1946 and has run annually since, attracti…